


Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year - May

by appending_fic



Series: Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year [9]
Category: Buddy Thunderstruck (Cartoon), Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Break Up, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Non-Graphic Violence, Self-Hatred, undiagnosed mental illness, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 05:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16152479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: A night at the arcade has unfortunate consequences. No, no one beats Polybius.





	Weird Little Greasepit - Sophomore Year - May

At around 10:30 in the morning, during social studies, Gregg realized it was going to be a shitty day. Not the sort of day where he couldn’t keep his mind off the fact how terrible he was, but the one where it felt like the world was pressed on top of him.

Though once it occurred to him, the thought lingered.

It always left him with a creeping awareness of how much work it was to be Greggory Lee, because he suddenly _wasn’t_ , anymore, and couldn’t find the energy to start again.

It made the day worse that he had no choice but to hold it together. He had a date, and the last thing he needed was Darnell realizing how much of a piece of shit Greggory was. He wondered, vaguely, if he could find time to get lost in the woods and shoot stuff, but that just invited a crush of guilt at not feeling up to seeing his boyfriend but still wanting to benefit from the gifts he’d gotten from him.

He really was a worthless piece of shit.

“Hey, you okay?”

Gregg afforded Casey, in rare form by actually attending class, a sidelong glance and shake of his head. There wasn’t any point in pretending with Casey, who was still trash, if not as much as Gregg.

“Wanna get out of here?”

And god, he _did_. But Gregg shook his head.

“Can I get you anything?”

And the thing was, Casey meant anything. He’d score booze, drugs, had once acquired some discontinued Korean candy on request. And it was sweet, but neither pot or alcohol mixed with a shitty day, and Gregg couldn’t think of anything that _would_ make him feel better.

...Aside from not being trash. But his parents weren’t doctors and _he_ wasn’t going anywhere fast.

He hung on to lunch, where he tried to pretend to be Gregg Lee, and collapsed against the wall in the bathroom afterward, not caring it’d make people worry (a little part of him _wanted_ Darnell to hear, to worry, to prove he cared). And then he stood up to finish the rest of his day.

Darnell found Gregg at his locker at the end of the day (something felt wrong about that, but Gregg couldn't bring himself to piece it together), where he ducked in to kiss Gregg's nose. "I have a proposition for you."

Gregg raised one eyebrow, interest piqued despite his general feeling of shittiness.

"Buddy thought it's been a while since we all got together, so maybe, if you wouldn't mind, we could make tonight a group thing?"

Gregg hoped his relief wasn't visible on his face, because that would convey the exact wrong impression, would make Darnell think Gregg didn't _want_ to spend time with him. When the reality was…

Today, he _couldn't_ spend time with someone he had to pretend not to be trash around. Not one-on-one where he couldn't hide. So having Mae and Casey around as a buffer almost seemed like the best choice (there was in there the worry that Darnell _knew_ and was trying to spare Gregg the embarrassment of having to admit that himself; he was smart enough to figure it out, and nice enough to try to help even when Gregg didn't deserve it).

"Well, sure, if you need some Buddy time, I'll oblige. Where's the party?"

"How's the arcade sound?"

Like Gregg might be able to go the whole evening without having to talk to anyone.

"Great!"

Darnell beamed at Gregg and ducked in for a hug, so quick Gregg couldn't get his arms to respond before Darnell pulled back. "You wanna head over now?"

'Don't let him see you panic'.

"Heh, how about you catch a ride with Buddy? I got things to do."

"Yeah, that's...great. I'll see you in a couple hours?"

"Yeah."

Darnell turned to leave, and Gregg, in a moment of panic, said, "Dar?"

"Yeah?" He turned, looking at Gregg expectantly.

"Be safe."

Gregg had almost told Darnell how he felt about him, before rethinking it. 'Love you'? Darnell didn't need to hear that.

Gregg couldn't handle going home right now, so he found a quiet place in the woods and threw rocks at trees, because he couldn't bear taking the Ghostbuster off his bike. He didn't deserve it - hadn't when Darnell had given it to him. But Gregg was stupid and in love and couldn't say no.

So he pushed it a little, stayed out until he was almost late enough Darnell would worry, before taking his bike back to the arcade. Everyone was there, where 'everyone' meant Mae and Casey and Buddy and Darnell and Kristin and Muncie and Mr. and, because they were at the arcade, Handsome Joe. Kristin was on the Polybius machine, accepting quarters from Handsome Joe when she died. Mr. was, miraculously, watching her instead of Buddy, who was on the skee ball machine. 

Darnell was following around Mae, who was bouncing from game to game apparently randomly. Casey was at the snack bar, and waved when he saw Gregg. Gregg decided to join him.

"Hey, dude. Doing any better?" Gregg shrugged. "Sucks. Maybe go talk to your boyfriend?" Gregg shrugged again, and Casey rolled his eyes. "Come on, dude. Go make out in the alley or something - you'll feel better."

Gregg huffed, but didn't resist when Casey pushed him toward the games. He took a breath and tried to saunter toward Darnell and Mae, nearly tripping when he realized he _couldn't remember how to walk_. He grabbed the nearest machine, shaking it enough to draw Darnell's attention, and Gregg wanted to bolt.

But this was his boyfriend, and his best friend, at least one of whom would be put out if he left.

"Heyyy, Mae, you survive the drive over?"

"Pft, yeah. I am a tiny cat ninja. _You_ , though, I expected to smear yourself over a hundred yards of road."

Darnell twisted his mouth, looking a little queasy. "Guys?"

"Alright, let's cool it. My boy's got a delicate constitution."

"He stabbed a vampire right in the chest with a number 2 pencil."

"Two-and-a-half," Darnell corrected.

"Well, that'll lose you points. But okay!" Mae raised her hands up in defense, before winking at Gregg. "I could make myself scarce if you want."

"No, we're here for retro gaming," Gregg replied. "Not makeouts. Like what's this thing here?"

The cabinet was black but streaked with rainbows, and the name was faded. Gregg ran a hand along the edge, fingers catching on something as he moved. "There's something-"

"Let me see." Darnell shifted next to Gregg, peering at the side of the cabinet. "It's like a sticker or watermark. And I've seen it before."

"Yeah? Well, let's see how this thing plays." Mae produced a quarter and slipped it into the machine, which hummed as it flickered to life. Gregg was close enough to see the shift as Darnell's eyes widened. He lunged past Gregg, grabbing Mae's arm.

"Wait-"

And then there was a blinding flash.

When Gregg could see again, he was standing in a world of bright colors and sharp lines, with Darnell and Mae next to him. Darnell’s hand was still out, but when he saw their surroundings, he let it drop.

“-Don’t,” he finished weakly.

“Why not?” Mae twisted in place, taking in the dense forest around them. They were in a more or less circular clearing with a wide path leading out. “This place doesn’t look dangerous.”

There was a flicker of motion in the corner of Gregg’s vision and then everything went-

Blocky. Pixelated.

They were standing somewhere _like_ the same forest they’d been in, but the trees were more distant, and there was no path.

There _were_ three feral wolves, wicked fangs slavering as they howled.

“... _Fuck_ ,” Mar said.

“Guys? Either of you got an idea what’s going on?”

A wolf lunged at Gregg; he stepped back, narrowly avoiding a snap of their jaws. “Dar?”

“I was saying,” Darnell said, before scrambling back with a yelp when a wolf attacked him, “some dangerous things don’t look dangerous. And this machine had the same symbol on it as my book of weird phenomena.”

Gregg felt a clench of guilt in his chest; _he’d_ been the one to draw attention to the machine, after all.

Mae hopped back and showed the third wolf her middle finger. “And if I had to guess, _I’d_ say we’re stuck inside a turn-based role-playing game. And it’s my turn.”

She produced a baseball bat from...well, Gregg was sure she hadn’t been carrying it before. She charged at the wolf that had attacked Gregg, giving a wild war cry. Gregg had to look away, because though it was a wild animal, and there was a real expression on Mae’s face while she did so, her beating the wolf with her baseball bat was too reminiscent of what she’d done to Andy Cullen for comfort.

The wolf howled and-

Vanished.

“Hey, looks like you’re up next, Knives,” Mae called.

And Gregg felt a small flush of hope. He might have gotten them stuck, but he could help them fight, help get out of this game. He darted forward, finding a pair of knives at his belt, and swiped at the wolf who’d hurt Darnell. He was sure he hurt it, but it didn’t disappear like the other one. 

Mae laughed at him. “I guess that’s why they call me Killer. Hey, Darnell, get a move on!”

"Get the other one," Gregg suggested; Darnell nodded and, serious, pulled out a-

"Is that a pencil?"

"Two-and-a-half," Darnell muttered. "Um." He stepped up to the third wolf and stabbed; it yelped. The other took advantage of Darnell's distraction to snap their jaws around his leg. His pained grunt was a little like getting punched, though it wasn't quite as painful as the slash of the other's claws against Gregg's arm.

Mae growled and charged at the one that had attacked Gregg, braced herself, and gave a massive home-run swing, making the wolf vanish with a crack. And that gave Gregg his opportunity to get his revenge on the one who'd hurt Darnell, a flurry of stabs that made him feel _slightly_ better, or at least like he could contribute, even if he was shit at it.

Gregg's vision blurred again, and he found himself back in the original clearing. There was a jangling, and Mae let out a whoop. "Hey, like three bucks! And it's those dollar coins you never see!"

"What?"

"I guess it _is_ a role-playing game," Darnell replied. "So I guess...we better start looking for a way out."

The path led them out of the woods _eventually_ , though they had several more fights, where Mae, who played these games a lot more than Gregg did, took the lead, directing Gregg and Darnell to team up against monsters while she soloed everything else. It was a relief to finally find a town, until Gregg realized Mae's plan was to talk to every. Single. Person. There. Lucky the conversations weren't, like, long, but already worn out from putting up with the whole day, Gregg knew he was flagging when they finally identified their quest, to defeat the Dark Queen.

"Well, at least that's direct."

Mae and Darnell both gave Gregg a pitying look, because, as he quickly discovered, role-playing games were complete _bullshit_.

The slog between fixing bridges, saving princesses with tools they needed to recover the ancient crystals to open the door to the evil castle, and so on, was basically like the worst day ever. The approximately fifteen seconds of sleep they got whenever they stayed at an inn wasn't helping, either.

Whatever bullshit system this place ran on gave Darnell magic powers, so he was soon slinging spells around. And Mae, of course, was just wrecking people with whatever shit she could pick up (she beat a giant slime monster to death with a rolled-up newspaper). And Gregg was just on the sidelines, struggling just to keep up.

Wandering the final castle, chock full of dragons and nightmares, Gregg wasn't feeling too optimistic. Not about winning - Mae and Darnell were kicking ass and taking names. But Gregg was basically useless, forcing Mae and Darnell to step in, or use their magic, to keep him safe while he, what, stole extra money from monsters (there was one dungeon full of robots where Gregg could make them fall apart by stealing key components, but that was like, one place).

_He_ might get them killed trying to protect his sorry ass.

And then they were here, standing before the Dark Queen, who was _another_ dragon, purple scales edged with black, green flames puffing with every breath.

"Okay, I know this is like a scripted event, which means there's no chance of you listening - but can we just leave?" Darnell pleaded. "We've been in here for like-"

"Twenty-three hours and four minutes. You should save and take a break," the Dark Queen replied.

"Yeah, that," Darnell said wearily. "Look, we just want to go home."

"So do _I_ ," the dragon snarled. "You've been here a _day_ \- I've been here _twenty years_! Stuck amongst these mindless puppets!"

"Twenty years?" Darnell asked. "I thought you were just programming."

"No. I offended two _dangerous_ beings - the Smile Witch and the Great Mason - and they trapped me here in retribution."

"... _How_ , exactly, did you offend them?"

The dragon chuckled. "Oh, a few murders, though I _promise_ you they deserved it. But enough chit-chat - I'm afraid there's only one way out, and that's through me. And _I'm_ not about to step aside - not when I can ride one of your bodies out of here." She spat out a gout of flame, and the pixelation pushed them into another battle.

And being a real opponent, not a line of code, she was _hard_ to fight. She seemed to know their weaknesses, targeting Gregg to force Mae and Darnell into a defensive strategy, while whittling their hit points away with _her_ magic. But they were winning - slowly, surely, they were dragging her down, as well.

And then after a particularly vicious beating from Mae, the Dark Queen's eyes lit up.

"Ah! This stupid game won't let me use this until I'm _unacceptably_ close to death!" She twisted one claw and a shadow appeared over her hand. "Now let's see - eeny, meeny, miiny, _Gregg_."

The shadow darted toward Gregg, and in it he saw red eyes and a gleaming skull.

And then it diverted away from him at the last second, striking Darnell, who let out a soft sigh and fell.

"Dar!"

"Keep your head in the game, Greggory!" Mae snapped, but Gregg wasn't certain he could. That stupid, selfless _idiot_ ; they'd found that stupid retargeting spell _ages_ ago, and he'd had to use it to protect _Gregg_ , like Darnell wasn't the heart of their party.

"Oh, do stop that. He would have been dead in a hundred years anyway. Now, let’s see, this is worth a try-“

The blast of energy sent Gregg and Mae both to their knees. Gregg felt weak, and could see Mae panting weakly. Their hit points must have been low - _dangerously_ so. Darnell had been great at keeping them up, so Gregg was certain they hadn’t been this hurt all game.

Mae, though, was grinning. She pushed herself up, teeth bared as she tottered toward the dragon.

“Thanks for telling us about limit breaks. Otherwise I might have been worried.” She spun her (new, upgraded) baseball bat, steadied herself, and swung.

“Orbital Liftoff!”

The strike sent the dragon careening into the ceiling, which cracked and crumbled around her as she fell to the floor. She was substantially more bruised than before the strike.

“You little-“ The dragon swiped at Mae viciously, sending her dropping. “Forgot how few hit points you had, didn’t you?”

And then it was Gregg’s turn, him and the dragon alone.

And he was frozen. He could give Darnell the item that fixed the ‘near-death’ state falling in battle caused, or bring back Mae. But the dragon was certain to drop them again.

He could try an attack, but he doubted he could do enough damage to beat her.

He could do nothing, and they’d all die. But they’d all die no matter what he did.

...Wait.

Mae’d never had an attack like the one she’d just used. A limit break, she’d called it. And the dragon had said there was an attack she couldn’t use until her hit points were low.

Darnell didn’t have special attacks. He’d picked up weird items he could use instead of slicing. He reached down and opened his pack.

He met the eyes of the fox carved into the barrel of the Ghostbuster.

“What are you waiting for? Just make your last pathetic move, whelp!”

Gregg took a deep breath and pulled out the Ghostbuster. The dragon laughed.

“Is that the best you can do? Your warrior friend could barely get through my scales with her strongest attacks. What will that little thing do?”

“Darnell gave this to me. So I’m betting it can do _enough_.”

Gregg pulled the trigger once, twice, three times.

And each bolt passed through her scales as if they weren’t there, landing home within her chest with a wet thunk.

The dragon looked down, eyes glazed over. “Oh.” Her form pixelated, went back to normal. Cycled again. “Damn.”

She shattered into individual pixels, and Gregg's vision went dark. He slammed into something - several somethings, actually, as he fell. When Gregg's vision returned, he could see the arcade cabinet, shattered to pieces, and himself in a tangle of limbs with Darnell and Mae. Panic flared, and Gregg turned to Darnell, shaking him gently.

"Are you okay, Dar? You've gotta be - are you okay?"

"What. The. Hell?"

Muncie was standing just out of reach, eyes darting between the pile of creatures and the game cabinet. "What did you - what _happened_?"

"Ugh, why are you still _here_?" Mae grumbled. "It's been - like, a _day_. Ow. Remind me never to get beaten to death by a dragon sorceress again."

"No, you three vanished into that cabinet five minutes ago."

"And you have _got_ to tell me what you did to make it explode like that!" Buddy bounced to their sides, helping Darnell up before turning to Gregg.

"I'd like to know that, too. The last thing I remembered that dragon used a death spell thing."

Gregg shrugged. "Got in a lucky shot. Guess killing the end boss made the cabinet explode."

"Lucky shot? Come on-" Darnell shoved Gregg a little, "You killed the final boss!"

"Yeah, well, I was _useless_ the whole rest of the time." Gregg stepped back, folding his arms. "The perfect cap on a useless fucking day."

"Useless - are you okay?"

"No, I'm-" It was suddenly too much - the whole shitty day, the 24-hour video game crammed into five minutes of time, seeing Darnell _die_. "No. I'm not. It's been a shit day, and I'm shit-"

"You _aren't_ ," Darnell insisted.

"Oh _god_ , will you just _stop_?" Gregg snapped. "I'm just - I'm going home."

It was a cold, lonely ride home, Gregg running every second of the whole shitty day (two days) through his head. If only he'd begged off the date, gone home to sleep. No one would've gotten trapped in a video game, Darnell wouldn't have gotten hurt, and Gregg wouldn't have-

Oh god, had he _yelled_ at Darnell? He was such a fucking piece of shit.

Gregg slumped down against his bike when he got home, dropping his head back against it while he fought back tears. He'd tried so _hard_ to be nice to Darnell, to be cheerful and fun, and all it'd taken was a couple of shit days for Gregg to break down and-

"Hey."

Gregg glanced up to see Darnell standing over him; Darnell waved at him, smiling uncertainly.

"Hi."

"Are you okay?"

" _No_ ," Gregg muttered. "I said."

"Do...you want me to go?" Darnell asked.

Gregg shook his head.

"Can I...do anything?"

Gregg shook his head.

"So what...am I supposed to _do_?"

"I don't _know_!" Gregg shouted. He let his head drop, let his voice drop. "Stop _arguing_ with me. Stop… _lying_ to me to make me feel better."

"Stop lying - how am I _lying_ to you?"

"When you say I'm not _trash_ ," Gregg muttered. "Look, I know I'm attractive, and I've got this cool vibe, but I'm - I can't keep pretending to be someone I'm not."

"Someone…"

"Someone who's peppy and can't be dragged down. Who's - maybe not a complete waste of space."

"I…" Darnell crouched next to Gregg, reached out a hand to pat his shoulder. " _I_ don't think you're a waste of space."

"Because I'm a good liar!" Gregg wailed. "Come on - I'm failing two classes, got no skills, and hang out in the woods with Casey when he smokes pot. I'm not smart, or talented, and I...sometimes I just remember how shitty I am."

"But you're _sweet_ ," Darnell protested. "And fun, and cool, and _funny_ \- that doesn't-"

" _Fuck_ , Dar, that's all just - it doesn't make me not shit." Gregg swiped at his eyes, finding them damp.

"Come _on_ ," Darnell retorted, "You're _not_. You keep saying it, and I keep trying to tell you you're not, and I don't know how to make you believe me."

Gregg growled, let his head drop back to his knees. "It's not about _believing_ you. I _know_ you think I'm not shit, but that doesn't keep me from being - you thinking I'm worth something doesn't keep me from knowing I'm not." He hugged his knees. "And some days I feel more like shit than others, and I can't - can't pretend otherwise."

"Gregg-" Darnell's face was stricken, miserable, and of course telling Darnell this hurt him. He liked Gregg, and probably would fight - get Buddy to fight - anyone _else_ who said that about Gregg. He reached a hand out, resting it lightly on Gregg's own. "You need to stop this - you're a _good guy_ , and every time you talk like this, like you're _trash_...I don't know what to do." When Gregg didn't reply, Darnell continued. "I _hate_ listening to you talk like that."

"Then maybe you shouldn't," Gregg muttered.

"Shouldn't what?"

"Shouldn't listen to me."

Darnell scoffed. "What, _ignore_ you when you're feeling like _shit_?"

"Maybe you shouldn't be _around_ me. Anymore."

"Gregg? I'm not going to break up with you because you're _sad_."

"I'm not _sad_ , Dar, I'm _shit_ , and that's not changing, and if you can't handle listening to me talk about it…" Gregg sighed. "I guess I'm saying _I'm_ breaking up with _you_."

"Come on, Gregg, we can figure this out; we don't have to-"

"I think I do."

"Come on, Gregg, I - _love_ you."

And a couple of days ago, that might have been enough for Gregg to forget he was shit for a little while; he might have thought that could _fix_ him. But Gregg loved _Darnell_ , and it wasn't enough to make him less of a shitty person.

If Gregg were more selfish, he might have let this go on for a bit, pretend it wasn't going to all go to shit eventually.

But he couldn't do that to Darnell - trap him in something that would hurt him.

"Not enough."

"Gregg!"

"I think you should go."

Gregg knew he'd made the right decision, was _sure_ of it. But it didn't keep him from crying himself to sleep that night.

**Author's Note:**

> EHC ZETQR QFONE SKULGZG - RTAR'E TFQ HMDRMD


End file.
